Most parents I meet aren’t trying to be perfect. They’re trying to do right by their kids—day after day—while building a home that feels steady, creative, supportive, and alive. Parenting is aspirational in the most human way: we’re shaping an environment where children can thrive, and where we can keep growing as people and partners, too.
One of the simplest ways families make meaning is by telling stories. The stories we repeat at the dinner table, on the subway, at bedtime, or on our walk to school. Joan Didion said, “We tell ourselves stories in order to live.” Narrative is how we hold the chaos of life long enough to understand it.
The stories we tell don’t just describe us; over time, they shape us. A child who hears, “You’re the one who keeps trying,” starts to see themselves as resilient. A family that returns to stories of closeness, humor, and care begins to treat those as part of the house rules.
“We tell ourselves stories in order to live.”
– Joan Didion
This isn’t only poetic; it’s practical. The research from developmental psychologist Robyn Fivush, who studies family narratives and identity, shows that kids and teens who know more of their family stories show stronger self-concept and better emotional regulation. These stories “provide a foundation for how children come to understand themselves, others, and the world around them.”
Family photos sit right at the center of that habit. Photos bring stories to the surface. One image can snap a whole moment back into focus—the mood, the season, the joke, the way someone looked at someone else. When families view photos together, the stories start to spill out. Pull out an old album and watch what happens: your kids ask questions, and you find yourself describing not just what happened, but what life felt like. Moment by moment, that’s how families build a shared sense of who we are, where we come from, and where we’re going.
The stories we tell our children “provide a foundation for how children come to understand themselves, others, and the world around them.”
Dr. Robyn Fivush
Modern parents, though, have a unique problem: we’re drowning in images, but many are made without intention and they languish on our phones. We end up with 60,000 images on our phone’s camera roll and while we keep meaning to print, make an album, or get our photos organized, we always leave it for tomorrow.
This is where SHK comes in. We don’t only take pictures; we make them with care, with an eye toward who your family is right now and how these images will feel on your walls, in an album, or on your screen five years from now. We help you create heirlooms that can be passed down to future generations that capture the vibe of your family—how you laugh together, how you hold each other, what home feels like in this chapter—so that you’re not just adding to the pile of images on your phone, you’re creating a small set you’ll want to return to.
Our job is to help bring family photos into your life. Your phone is brilliant at documenting the daily stream; our sessions create the anchor images that can hold that stream. We help you weave the two together—choosing images to hang on your walls, print in albums, and how to bring them to your phone so you enjoy your pictures and preserve them for future generations.
Success looks like this: your family can point to a picture and say, “That’s us.” Your home reflects your values without needing a speech. Your kids grow up fluent in where they came from—and confident they belong.
The risk of not acting is quiet but real: tens of thousands of images scattered across devices or lost, and the story of your family left mostly untold.
